


from the blue

by MurasakiNoAo



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: ??? - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Depression, Fluff, Language Barrier, M/M, Mutual Pining, Ocean, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Viktor is Whipped
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 08:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9376493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MurasakiNoAo/pseuds/MurasakiNoAo
Summary: Viktor was floating up, up, up.Yuuri was sinking down, down, down.They met at sea level.





	1. up / down

**Author's Note:**

> this is a mess and i have no idea what's going on but here have it
> 
> also not sure if i should continue this or not. i don't have a plot in mind but i could like..... just write some fluff scenes or give some kind of explanation or something. let me know if you'd like to see that and i will (maybe) provide but for now it's just a confusing one shot.
> 
> (as a side note, i use 'victor' when talking about him casually but i use 'viktor' for aes purposes like in fics so..yea)

Viktor was floating up, up, up.

He wondered briefly if he was going to continue going up for the rest of his life. Perhaps his people had been right in saying that what he was attempting would lead to his death.

Yet he did not regret it.

As he floated, getting slower and slower as he went, he watched the particles in the water float up with him. They danced with him and he laughed in a way he hadn’t been able to in a long time. The color of blue surrounded him and swirled and got lighter and lighter.

If he would die like this, he would die happy.

It seemed like forever until he finally saw something.

The creature was small and stared at him passing by with large eyes that never blinked. Viktor waved at it, but only succeeded in scaring it away, the part where its legs should be flapping in order to propel it forward.

Viktor was absolutely intrigued. He wondered how it breathed without a helmet on.

Eventually, he began to see more creatures. But these ones were different than the last. All of them, in fact, were different. Some were colorful and some were not, while some were big and some only the size of his finger. Some even had teeth that looked as if they were made for chomping, so Viktor made sure to try and stay away from those ones.

He tried to talk to one.

“Hello!”

The creature only stared at him. What Viktor could only guess to be its arms were waving softly at its side.

He tried again.

“Who are you?”

Still no answer. Perhaps it couldn’t hear him through his helmet.

“ _Who are you_?!” he asked again, this time with as much volume as he could.

The vibrations from his voice sent the creature flailing away just like the first one had.

He was disappointed. If this was going to be the rest of his life, it was going to be a lonely one. He was beginning to think maybe he should have at least convinced someone to come with him.

Alas, it was too late now. Viktor was alone in a swirling blue world with thousands of creatures who he could not talk to.

He would have started to cry if he hadn’t looked up and almost been blinded by the brightest light he had ever witnessed.

What was that?!

Viktor wished he could take off his helmet so he could knead his offended eyes back into clarity. Back home there was nothing as bright as that. He worried that it was some sort of creature that was coming to gobble him up. He hadn’t thought for sure that any of the creatures he met could and would do such a thing, but now he was frightened out of his wits.

Oh, now he really was crying.

He pulled his legs up, curling in on himself and that was how he stayed for however long it took him to fall asleep from the exhaustion of it all.

 

*

 

When Viktor woke up next, the first thing he took note of was that it was dark. The second thing he took notice of was that he was no longer surrounded by swirling blue. Instead, above his head were shining specks of light that dazzled him beyond belief.

For a moment he couldn’t breathe. Tears came to him because he did not think he had seen something more beautiful than what was in front of him in his whole life.

And there was one light that stood out from the rest. It was a circle and looked almost like a face of a person. Was it a person?

He reached a hand towards it, and balked at how easily he could move compared to before. His arm felt free, even with the suit he still had on it.

That was when he realized that the reason for that was because he was back in the world of air instead of water.

For a moment, he believed he had floated back down when he was asleep and was now back at home, but the sight of the thousands of lights above him certainly did not belong to his home. Someone would have told him this sight had existed and he would have seen it already.

But if he was not home, then where was he? And why was he now _on top of the water_?

All throughout his people’s history, they had been _below_ the water. They had looked up at it, thousands of feet away, and wondered what the black blue held inside of it. And Viktor had set out to find the answer to that question. Yet, here he was, faced with more questions than he had ever faced before.

A thought then came to him. Was he able to breathe this air?

It took him a second to get the hang of positioning himself so his head was completely out of the water. Shaking hands slowly unclasped his helmet and with a sharp noise, Viktor inhaled the smell of cold and salt and salt and _salt_.

But then he was afraid because a gentle wave came at him and the water it carried flowed over and into his suit, touching his exposed skin.

And it _burned_.

Viktor tasted the salt of the water and the salt of his tears as he rushed to put his helmet back where it belonged. He only let himself calm down when the clasp clicked into place and he was sure no more water would be able to sting him.

Why did this water hurt? The water his people had below did not belong to this water, but it still looked the same. Shouldn’t it feel the same as well?

But he did not have the time or energy to think about such things because he was starting to fall asleep again. Everything was just too much so when he felt the edges of dreams tickle his vision, he let it take over without struggle.

 

*

 

Someone was saying something. It was garbled and warbled and Viktor couldn’t understand a single thing they said, but it was _someone_.

He felt the pressure of something against his upper arm, then he was lifted from the hard, yet soft and squishy surface he was laying on. Something wrapped around his shoulders and he was shaken, softly.

The someone spoke again, more urgently this time. Viktor tried to open his eyes.

It was a person. He almost cried because he hadn’t seen a person in what felt like _ages_ . And, well, he almost did cry because this person was almost as beautiful as the lights that he had seen before he had fallen asleep. No, they were _more_ beautiful.

Everyone Viktor knew was pale. Their skin and their hair and their eyes glowed with the lack of color. Viktor had been blessed with the most colorful eyes any of his people had ever seen, yet they failed to match the deepness, the richness of color that this person’s eyes held before him now.

They were, to be described as crudely as possible, brown. But Viktor looked harder and saw that they were more than that. They were the soft dirt freshened by the sprinkling of his people’s water which did not burn. They were the sweet smelling bark of the tree that grew slowly outside of Viktor’s room. They were the taste of dark coffee with steam coming up to greet his face.

And Viktor, oh, Viktor was drowning.

He reached, much like he had towards the glowing face suspended above him from before, up to touch the person. His fingers, still gloved and damp, caressed the cheek that lay beneath those eyes which were muddled with an emotion Viktor couldn’t translate.

He smiled and fell back into his slumber, right there in the arms of the beautiful stranger.

 

*

*

*

 

Yuuri was sinking down, down, down.

It had been this way ever since he graduated and settled into the family business. Every day he wasted behind the counter was another day the hole inside of him stretched and stretched.

On that particular day, the hole was so stretched that it felt like it was coming out from the inside to swallow him whole. He couldn’t breathe, not quite. So he excused himself from his sister, leaving his post to her, and stumbled into the fresh air.

Except, it wasn’t fresh enough. It was fresh air that he had drunk so many times before, the kind he had been born in and raised in, so that its freshness had long been dried out for him. So he stumbled further and further until he found himself walking towards the beach and the ocean, which was a suitable place to find some actual fresh air.

But he still did not find it. Yuuri clawed at the collar of his shirt and his neck burned at the touch of the fabric.

Oh, how he wished he could just take it all off. Rip open the buttons on this cheap shirt with stains of something foul in it and then rip off the skin below and then tear at the muscles and the bones and reach into his heart and _pull_ that hole that was stuck in there out and throw it into the sun which hung low in the sky.

It would be simple, but Yuuri was a coward and he couldn’t even bare to unclasp one button because the air was chilly and nipped at the skin bared to it. He could only sink deep into the sandy shore and wait for this moment of utter _failure_ to pass like it always did. Like it always would.

But then an ocean wave crashed along the shoreline and a dark thing came with it. Yuuri stared only until he realized that the dark thing was not a thing but a _person_ and they weren’t moving, oh God, they _weren’t moving_.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice embarrassingly high in his distress. He shook the person’s arm and when they failed to stir, Yuuri gently, with as much quiet and soft movements as he could possibly spare, lifted them so their upper back lay against his arm. He repeated, “are you all right?”

They stirred and for the briefest of moments, Yuuri felt empty.

It wasn’t a bad kind of empty. It was the kind of empty where he couldn’t feel himself. He had no air in his lungs and he had no thoughts in his brain and he wasn’t entirely sure if he was there at all. But the main thing was that the hole, the hole that had been tormenting him for years and years and years was _gone_.

Yes, this was the best kind of empty Yuuri had ever felt.

The next moment, however, came with the complete opposite effect.

He was _full_.

The person’s eyes were peering at him and Yuuri was drinking from the pool of crystals they were providing. Warmth filled his crevices and his face. His thoughts were back and they were ramming into him at the fullest of speeds and he couldn’t hear them over the loud, _loud_ sound of his heart that was steadily creeping up and up. He couldn’t repeat his question to them simply because his throat was full of his heart and he was bursting.

Yuuri couldn’t process why this person was on the beach or why they were wearing some sort of outlandish space suit or why they were so, so _beautiful_ while they also looked half dead.

A hand, covered and wet with salty water, lifted as if in crescendo.

And Yuuri, well, Yuuri certainly could not process the fact that this person was touching his cheek with such carefulness as if they thought it might break if enough force was applied.

A smile, warm and genuine and maybe a bit heartbreaking, grace the face behind the helmet’s glass.

Then they were gone.

. . .

As if Yuuri would allow such a marvel of nature to come to such waste right there in his very arms. His small town of Hasetsu may not have had a hospital, but this family’s hot spring carried a first aid kit somewhere in it and, well, that was going to have to do for now.

Though vaguely and with a daylight stranger in a soaking space suit lying loosely across his back as he jogged back up the beach, he couldn’t help but think of how _alive_ he was at that moment.

It felt like that stranger had reached inside of him to take his hole away without the need of any tearing at all.

It was the best feeling Yuuri had in a long, long time.


	2. hot / cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri was hot, hot, hot.
> 
> Viktor was cold, cold, cold.
> 
> They learned each other's names.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaand against my better judgement i've decided to continue this. still don't have a clear plot in mind, but here we go i guess
> 
> thank you to those who gave me kudos / bookmarks / comments / etc. for last chapter! i hope you enjoy this one as well
> 
> and if you're wondering why the pronouns for yuuri and victor switch depending on whose pov it is, that's because gender is fake and frankly i can't give a damn
> 
> (mention of a small amount of blood towards the end)

Yuuri was hot, hot, hot.

The chill of the evening had long since faded from his bones as he sped towards his home with the heavy weight of a stranger on him. It had been replaced by heat that flushed him and caused his head to spin with fatigue and his throat to scream for moisture. 

Mari’s face would have looked great in a photo when she had spotted him as he shuffled past the entrance with what appeared to be just a still wet space suit on his back. Such an expression was priceless and deserved to be plastered in an album for a fond memory to look back upon with nostalgic laughter. The lack of a camera was probably a grace, however, because it would have turned back around to snap a picture of him sweating another ocean onto the wooden floor and Yuuri absolutely did  _ not _ want such a photo to exist. 

Another grace was the fact that the lobby in the hot spring resort he and his sister co-ran since the early retirement of their parents the year prior was empty and no customer was there to gawk and point like Mari was doing.

She tried to ask him questions, but he could barely stand as it was and it felt like he was going to be sick. He told her as much and with the threat of vomit staining the floor, Mari finally helped Yuuri carry the stranger to the couch located in the private section of the inn meant for the Katsuki family only. 

They worked as a team to remove parts of the suit. Yuuri found the small clasps on the helmet and Mari peeled the gloves off. He was quick to lift the helmet and put it aside, but her fingers lingered for too long on the hand and her face was growing pale like all the blood in her was draining from a faucet.

Without even pushing for answers, she stood and called the local doctor.

And Yuuri knew the reason for the sudden fear in her because he was feeling it too. Because as he brushed a piece of hair - silver like the moonlight and soft like silk - that was pressed to the forehead of the stranger aside, he could feel the ice of their skin and he knew,  _ knew  _ something was wrong. Because how could anyone be this cold and still be breathing, faintly, with a bit of a rasp?

He didn’t know how long he stood there, bent over the stranger’s face, his fingers hovering over them and trying so hard not to shake, but he did so until the doctor appeared in the door frame. Yuuri, startled back into reality, took a great step backwards to give the doctor room.

Mari handed him a bottle of water which he accepted with zeal and drowned it down in record time.

The doctor couldn’t properly examine them with the bulk of the suit still on and before Yuuri could protest, it was being zipped down and he was blushing madly because under that suit was-

… black, thin underclothing. Not exactly underwear and more like summer pajamas that clung tightly to the body.

Yuuri hadn’t realized he was holding in a breath until one slipped past his lips. No, no he had not been imagining that there was nothing under the stranger’s suit because that didn’t make sense. Of course they would wear something underneath it was a  _ suit _ for goodness sake.

He made it a point to not notice the curious stare that Mari was giving him as the doctor poked and prodded the stranger with small hums and mumbles. 

The doctor rose and started to talk about how there was nothing that seemed the matter besides the coldness of their skin and how that was most likely from being in the ocean water when it was beginning to be  _ winter _ of all times and how the recommended treatment was just some long rest. Yuuri, however, was only half listening because he felt that the doctor was wrong in saying there was nothing the matter because how could that be when their skin was frost and they failed to rouse even when the doctor had done some rather uncomfortable looking pressing and what if they didn’t-

“If you would like, I could bring over the police and they can-”

“No.” He didn’t really understand the firmness in his voice or why he had reacted so strongly to the mention of involving the authorities when deep down he knew that was probably the best option.

The doctor looked very confused. “I’m sorry, but didn’t your sister say you had found this person lying on the beach? Wouldn’t calling the police and having them here to ask questions be beneficial to him if he does not remember how to get home?”

“He’s staying here at the inn.” The lies slipped easily off his tongue without a stutter. “He signed in this morning when I was working the counter. When I saw him go out and not come back around the time he said he would, I went out to look for him. I found him washed up on the beach.”

If Mari had been staring at him before, she was certainly glaring thousands and thousands of holes into his side now and Yuuri was panicked because he thought for sure she was going to rat him out and call the police herself if she had to because that was who she was; she did the thing she knew was best and didn’t hesitate. 

But she just kept looking at him, lips sealed in a thin line, as the doctor nodded softly in understanding. “If you say so.”

The note that was slipped to Mari contained the information regarding payment because even though this visit had the doctor doing nothing of real benefit for the patient, Hasetsu was a small town and everyone needed some way to get the money they needed. That fact did not, however, lessen the sting of paying for something that in the end they had not needed.

After it was certain that the doctor had left and before Mari could pounce on him for his obvious lying, Yuuri turned sharply to his sister and asked her to grab the warmest blankets she could find. And she did, though not without hesitancy. 

He took the blanket from her and worked to tuck in the stranger that still lay sleeping on the couch in the small hope that it would bring warmth to their skin. 

Mari took this moment to speak.

“Why?”

Yuuri paused, hands stilling by the person’s feet. He didn’t look up at her and in the next second he was back to swaddling. 

“I don’t know.”

She left then because both knew that was all he was going to say about it.

Even after he finished the job of trapping whatever body heat the stranger had under the blanket, Yuuri did not leave the room. Instead, he took post in the chair opposite of them.

He was not going to let them wake up in a strange place alone. Not on his watch.

 

*

*

*

 

Viktor was cold, cold, cold.

When he eventually came to, his tired and far off mind could only tell him that there was something on top of him. It was soft and covered his entire body all the way up to his chin and after blinking a great number of times, the word for it came to mind.

Blanket. 

He didn’t know if it was because of its softness or because he was still muddled in half dreams he couldn’t remember, but he thought that this blanket was the best he had ever felt. 

Which was good because he was absolutely  _ freezing _ .

His home had never been cold enough to complain about or actually be called ‘cold’ only ‘lukewarm’ in the sense that it wasn’t as hot as it normally was. The only really cold things that Viktor could recall from home that warranted such an adjective was the water his people drank and washed from.

He swallowed. 

Oh, he could really go for some of that clear and cold water, even though his body shivered hard under the blanket. 

Slowly, he turned his head so he could observe his surroundings. 

The room he was in reminded him of home because of how much wood there was. The floor and the ceiling and the furniture were all made from wood and that brought some comfort.

But what baffled him were the things that were not, in fact, made from wood. 

There was one thing in particular that caused his brows to furrow and his mind to spin from the process of trying to figure out what it was. It stood on a desk - that much he knew - and was the same color as his own hair. The top curved downwards and something that looked almost like cloth covered the tip. A string hung from the hollow opening of the cloth. 

Viktor would have gone over for further inspection, but he was not willing to give up the small amount of warmth the blanket was giving him. That, and because something else entirely caught his attention. 

Or, well, some _ one  _ else entirely.

He hadn’t seen them at first. The room was held in darkness and they had seemed to blend into a chair that looked only to be half made of wood. Their legs were curled up into their body and they were sleeping, just as Viktor had been.

It was the person, the one he had seen before he had passed out again. 

The one with the eyes that sang to him. 

But those eyes were closed now and it was too dark to make out the details he wished desperately to see and before he knew it, he was standing, dragging the blanket with him as he crossed the space between them, not really minding the loss of most of his heat because  _ wow _ .

Viktor had not had a good chance to properly absorb their beauty from the before and, if he was honest with himself, he was not fully prepared when he stopped a mere foot from them and drank in the sight.

Their hair was the blackest of blacks; blacker than the world of water looked from the ground of his home.

Their cheeks were puffed and fluffed and the more he looked the more baffled he was because never had he thought someone’s cheeks could get so full. Everyone he knew was skinny, skinny, skinny with sharp edges and he thought that to just be how things were, but  _ now,  _ seeing those plump cheeks, he was so wonderfully glad that he was wrong.

Their eyelashes would flutter at times as some kind of dream - Viktor hoped it was a good one - flitted across their eyelids. The lashes were long and curled up like thousands of small smiles that kissed the skin below them. 

Their skin was pale, yet not. It held the secrets of a life this person led and the hardships they were going through in the creases by their eyes and brow. 

Viktor took a step - small, soundless, secret - forward. His hand - which some part of him that wasn’t as distracted noticed to be bare of his gloves - came into very close contact with the surface of those creases on their brow. He hesitated, though couldn’t think of a clear reason why.

Then, as if on some unspoken cue, the person below him shifted and Viktor felt warmth, warmth,  _ warmth _ .

How could someone be so  _ warm _ ? Before he could register it his whole hand was ghosting over those cheeks that were so much softer than they looked, greedily leaching that precious heat. His thumb brushed past those lashes to get at some of the hair upon their forehead and the person shifted again, including a small sound of questioning from the back of their throat.

Viktor held his breath as those eyes creaked open into slits, the creases on their brow deepening as the swirling brown shook off its sleep with each flick of the gaze around them. The fuddled auburn eventually settled on him, above them with his hand still cupping their cheek.

A jolt traveled up their body told him they were awake, but before he could back off to give them their space, they were already moving to take it back themself, arm swinging from their side to smack Viktor’s own arm away from them and, because of the excess motion they had put into the action, also smacking their fist straight into his face.

Viktor stumbled back onto the couch he had previously been dozing on, a hand covering the offended area as he watched the person scramble to their feet in the mild terror they still felt from waking to a stranger above them and Viktor thought he should feel guilty about startling them so badly but  _ oh _ -

A scarlet letter fell from his nose to his black pants and reminded him that he was still very much indeed human.

The person had finally seemed to process what they had done as blood dripped down from his face because now their eyes were wide as oranges and sputtered words of what Viktor could only assume were apologetic from their rosy lips. 

Viktor smiled at the sight. Seeing this person flail and blush and stutter brought a different kind of warmth to him.

They were  _ adorable _ . 

The person said something - fast and smooth - before disappearing into a different room. Viktor’s eyes followed, but his body remained planted where he sat because he had felt more than heard the request for him to not move. True to his instincts, they returned not even a minute later, cloth in hand.

Now Viktor truly stilled for those hands that he noted to be slender and slightly calloused reached up to cup his face in a fashion that mirrored what had transpired moments ago with the roles now reversed. They seemed ready to pull away at any sign he showed of not wanting them there, but Viktor found the complete opposite to be true, so he unconsciously leaned towards the touch. 

Neither attempted to speak as the person - with a kind of tenderness Viktor hadn’t experienced in a good while - dabbed at his nose. The white cloth bloomed to a fainted red and after a minute, Viktor could breath without tasting the copper. 

It was then that the person asked him something in a quiet voice and it was then that Viktor realized they weren’t talking in gibberish because of their flustered-ness, but because they were in fact speaking an entirely different language than the one he knew.

When he failed to answer whatever question they had posed, they frowned and asked something else that was choppier and rough. Still, Viktor did not understand.

“I’m sorry,” he said, half hoping his words would spark any kind of recognition in them.

They did not.

For a moment, the both of them simply stared helplessly at each other. Really, Viktor should have anticipated this because he went from his home through the water world and into this one and  _ of course _ they didn’t speak his language and why would they? His language lay far beneath them in a world of dull colors. 

The quiet was ended as the person lifted a finger to point firmly towards themself. 

“Yuuri.”

And that, Viktor did understand. 

His smile returned feverishly, his own finger coming up to mirror the person called Yuuri.

“Viktor.”

They giggled and he basked in the sound of it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you think pls?


	3. found / lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor was found, found, found.
> 
> Yuuri was lost, lost, lost.
> 
> They talked brokenly over a dining table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a shorter chapter because writing is Hard and i still don't quite know what i'm doing with this fic.
> 
> enjoy

Viktor was found, found, found.

Of course, he still had his reservations for this new world that was so unlike his own, but as he stuck by Yuuri as they did things that baffled him completely (such as making an object light up in bright yellow to illuminate the room after simply pulling a string) he figured that he could handle anything that was thrown his way.

When his stomach let out a protest of hunger, Yuuri had frowned and tugged him through the maze that was what Viktor assumed their house. They arrived in a room with a single low table and as he settled down nicely beside Yuuri, the sides of their legs pressing together so Viktor could get the warmth he still desperately needed, a bright smile made his face perk up despite not understanding a single thing that was said to him.

Not a moment later, another person emerged from the doorway.

She looked like Yuuri with her face full and her hair pulled back some, but her smile was too languid and her eyes far too relaxed to be an exact replica. As soon as she spotted him, she went to ask a question but Yuuri softly interrupted with their own comment. Her face morphed into small understanding and her smile at him became more firm.

Yuuri turned to him and place a hand on their own chest. “Yuuri,” they said as if Viktor needed reminding. Their hand shifted to point towards the newcomer. “Mari.”

“Mari,” Viktor repeated slowly, sparing her a small glance before his attention was stolen back to Yuuri.

He wet his lips.

“Yuuri.” 

Oh, the way it rolled off his tongue like it belonged there. It was soft and quiet and Mari most likely didn’t catch it completely which made him feel a strange sort of relief because for a reason he couldn’t pinpoint he wanted Yuuri only Yuuri to hear it. 

And they did not disappoint in their reaction.

It started as a slow widening of those eyes and became more as Yuuri deepened in color in every possible way. Their eyes turned into a wonderful russet while their face, starting from their ears, went from rose to red to crimson to scarlet in under three seconds. Their body seemed to melt against the wooden table by their side. 

Viktor watched this happen and Yuuri watched him watch as they seemed to try to figure out something to say. 

The spell was broken when Mari coughed - whether intentional or accidental, it was hard to say. Yuuri tore themself away and focused on Mari in a hurried voice that stuttered on some of the vowels Viktor couldn’t understand. From their tone and their gestures at him he could only assume they were talking of him to her and the predicament they found themselves in.

Not that Viktor was complaining (much, anyways, seeing as though he had yet to fully warm up). He watched them both speak in an almost argument before Yuuri pulled something from his pants. 

It was a small box and it lit up in their hands. Viktor, now not as afraid of the many, many unknown things in this world, leaned closer to look at the many bright colors it displayed. Yuuri, only pausing slightly to register Viktor’s amazement, went on to touch the box and causing the colors to change into pure white. A moment later, a few more colors - gray, blue, some black - appeared atop of the white. Yuuri did some rapid tapping and strange characters bloomed in the middle. As soon as they paused in their poking, different characters popped into existence below the other ones. 

Yuuri held the box in their hands so Viktor could see fully, a hopeful expression on his face.

Viktor, however, had not felt more confused than he did in that moment and it showed in the deep furrow of his face. 

Mari quipped something in their language and Yuuri complied, the hope in their eyes fading some (much to Viktor’s disappointment), tapping the box a few times more. 

He watched the characters on the bottom morph into another code he could not decipher. When he did nothing to react to it, they did the same motions as before. More lines, but this time, he could make out a few of his own language’s alphabet, though they were paired with more unfamiliar characters he now realized were words in one of this world’s languages. 

Yuuri made the characters change into another language and Viktor wondered just how many tongues there could possibly be. 

This went on for a few minutes; Yuuri changing their message into multiple languages while Viktor just stared and everyone in the room grew more and more frustrated at the lack of progress with every tap. 

He was so used to just watching that when something familiar and somewhat recognizable  _ did _ pop up on the box, Viktor almost did nothing, but as soon as he registered the slightly scrambled words and read the message Yuuri was trying to send him, his hand flew out to stop them from doing anything else to the box. 

_ Can raed tihs? _

Yuuri made a questioning noise and he finally noticed he was firmly gripping their wrist in a hold that was a bit too tight so he loosened his finger muscles considerably, yet did not make a move to let go entirely. They didn’t make a move to remove him either so his hand stayed where it was.

He pointed to the box, to the message in their language, and nodded with a bright smile. 

The relief in their face banished any tension that had been present in the room and in everyone who sat inside it. 

 

*

*

*

 

Yuuri was lost, lost, lost.

_ Russian. _ Viktor, the person he had found half alive at the beach dressed in some sort of space suit, could only speak  _ Russian _ . And had apparently never seen a phone in their life.

“Maybe he’s some sort of caveman,” Mari suggested in a half joking manner from her position in the doorway as he cooked. “Abandoned on some remote island as a kid and swam here in order to find society again, but, you know, went in the wrong direction and ended up here in Japan.”

It was such a ridiculous idea that Yuuri didn’t even bother responding and just kept preparing dinner.

Viktor was still in the dining room, sitting restlessly after he had told them via Google Translate to wait for some hot food. They had looked so against the idea until Yuuri had brought an extra set of blankets to wrap around them; he hadn’t been oblivious to the way they had attached their cold limbs to him the moment they sat before the table. 

Despite the extra warmth, Yuuri didn’t miss the way they fidgeted with a sour look as they watched him go.

“Google Translate is only good for simple things, Mari,” he muttered as he scooped some fresh rice into a couple of bowls. “I doubt we can use it to ask him what happened or where he’s supposed to be.”

“Then maybe having the police come over would be a good idea after all.” The edge in her voice made him flinch because he knew she was right, yet he frowned in disagreement anyways.

“He’s not complaining about being here, so there’s nothing bad about letting him stay until he can get his bearings. Once he’s better we can ask him where he wants to go and we’ll help him get there.” Yuuri cracked an egg and watched the insides spill into the bowl in front of him. “For now, he needs to rest and eat and  _ not _ be bombarded with questions.”

It was silent for a few thankful moments, then Mari’s teasing voice thoroughly broke it. “Okay then, but promise me you won’t get too attached. It’ll make it harder for you to say goodbye when the time comes.”

He sputtered and almost dropped the carton of eggs. “A-attached? What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s not everyday you cook up  _ katsudon _ for someone you’ve just met.”

“He’s sick, Mari, and he almost  _ died _ . He deserves the best food we can give him so he can get better faster.” 

She didn’t look convinced, going by the grin still plastered on her face.

With a sigh of defeat Yuuri nudged the finish product of his work towards his sister. “Just help me carry these,  _ please. _ ”

Viktor’s mood seemed to instantly change when the two of them brought in the steaming bowls of pork cutlets, egg, and rice. They locked onto the food in Yuuri’s grip and he could have laughed at how those iced eyes spelled out their desire if it hadn’t been for the fact that Viktor themself was still shivering slightly even under the three layers of blankets he had put them in.

“ _ Katsudon, _ ” Yuuri said as he placed the biggest helping in front of them as the simplest way in explaining what it was. 

They tore their gaze away from the bowl to grant him a gaze of sparkles. “ _ Katsudon _ ?” they tried in a thick accent that made him smile in earnest. He nodded and the smile was returned tenfold. 

Viktor scooped up the metal fork beside them (Yuuri hadn’t thought about grabbing the chopsticks because if they hadn’t even known how to operate a light switch then handling foreign utensils was certainly out of the question) and only paused briefly to look at their reflection in it before digging into their dinner. The Katsuki siblings held their tongues on proper manners once they saw just how hunger Viktor really was.

After one bite their whole face morphed into an expression of pure bliss. They shouted something in delight and Yuuri’s ears warmed in knowing they loved it. 

While he watched them shovel the  _ katsudon _ into their mouth he eventually picked up his own ration with his pair of chopsticks, thinking that they could make this work.

Somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me tell you that although google translate can be pretty bad sometimes, that's not the only reason the translation is off. victor actually speaks a jumbled version up of russian. why? because i can't make things easy apparently
> 
> next update in ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ days


	4. blue / red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor was blue, blue, blue.
> 
> Yuuri was red, red, red.
> 
> They learn to trust, just a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> godddd was this chapter a Binch to write. apologies for the long long wait (four months ??) as well as for the fact that i did not proof read this at all because i was so done with it when i finished and also its 1am

Viktor was blue, blue, blue.

Even after multiple servings of that hot delectable  _ katsudon _ and the multiple blankets covering his body and the way he pressed against Yuuri who still sat next to him at the table he still felt cold. It was getting darker outside with each passing minute and there seemed to be a breeze sneaking into the house that chilled everything and everyone. 

Specifically Vitkor. 

Especially Viktor. 

_ Why was this world so cold?! _

With a huff he huddled deeper in the blankets around him as he watched Mari take the empty bowls away. Yuuri stayed by his side after Viktor had successfully convinced them of not leaving him for the mindless chore of cleaning. It might have earned him a glare from Mari but when he had seen the small flush on Yuuri’s cheeks and heard their mumbled reply of consent as they resettled themself against him, he could hardly care if she had any ill feelings towards him.

Surely if he continued to be this cold no matter what anyone did to help him his limbs would turn a solid blue and fall right off. That was something his people would tell the children so they wouldn’t spend too much time in the cold, cold water that dotted their land. 

Viktor had spent too much time in this world’s water that burned his skin when he floated in it but not when Mari had offered him a cup full of it during dinner. That was the reason why he was so cold and felt as though he might die now that the warmth of the food in his stomach had receded. 

Yuuri at his side shifted and he felt their gaze on him but he couldn’t be bothered to lift his head to meet their lovely deep brown as much as he yearned to. It wasn’t until a soft lingering warm touch brushed his cheek did Viktor snap into attention, though he was too late to fully appreciate Yuuri touching his face before they pulled away and shouted something to Mari in the kitchen.

The foreign words meant nothing to him and he decided that once he was warm enough to think properly he would try to learn them. Thinking of Yuuri teaching him the soft tongue of their native language curled a smile to his lips. 

A nudge into his ribs - light and meant not to hurt - and a few gestures to the ceiling alerted Viktor that Yuuri wished him to stand. He pouted, wishing that he would instead stay in his curled position on the floor instead of losing the small amount of heat he managed to trap against him. 

But then Yuuri was wrapping an arm around his waist and helping him up themself and Viktor figured a little heat loss was worth this. 

They lead him through the house that Viktor assumed was theirs until they approached a wooden door different from the rest in that it seemed special in an important way. Yuuri brushed it to the side and ushered him in before he could get nervous at the destination they had in mind. 

There were benches. There were baskets. There was no one else there besides them and Yuuri seemed to be pleased of that because they let out a breath that was dangerously close to his skin. 

Most importantly, however, it was warmer in that room that it had been outside of it. 

Viktor could have purred at the newfound warmth that seeped into him slowly coupled with the comforting weight of Yuuri still attached to him.

It reminded him of home, briefly, though any sadness he would have felt at the thought was lost when he remembered there was no Yuuri back in his world. Imagining warmth without Yuuri was now an alien concept to him. 

(He would never admit that out loud because even in a world where no one could understand his words the sheer sappiness of them would embarrass himself beyond thought). 

His small moment of content wasn’t to last, however, because it wasn’t long for the coldness of his water curse to come back to him. The morbid thought of  _ I’m going to die aren’t I  _ circled in his head once more and he let out an unconscious whine. 

Yuuri shifted their grip on him so it was tighter, leading him further into the warmth of the room. They stopped in front of one of the baskets and that was where they both paused for a time that was probably longer than intended what with Yuuri’s brow arched downwards in the slightest. Viktor stared at the facial feature and wished it would smooth out.

Maybe he should do that himself.

Thankfully or un-thankfully - Viktor couldn’t decided which fit better with the emotion that came into him in that moment- Yuuri maneuvered him to sit on the bench nearby the baskets that lay in the multiple cubies dotted along the walls. Though he was glad he could get another opportunity to try and regather all the warmth he still needed, the fact that the position had him far from the reach of Yuuri seemed like the opposite from what he needed.

He let his dissatisfaction be known with a large pout and pitiful noise from the back of his throat.

They seemed more amused with him that sympathetic which only caused his pout to grow in size. 

That didn’t seem to last because in the next moment Yuuri’s smile disappeared and was replaced by a faint red color across their cheeks and thoughtful, almost reluctant expression on their face. They were nervous and hesitant and Viktor thought that it did not suit them well. 

Knowing his words wouldn’t be understood, he let a questioning sound ask the question for him. Yuuri looked to understand it well enough as they were offering a sort of apologetic smile, which hardly made any sense because what had they to apologize for? Viktor firmly decided they had nothing to apologize for ever.

A few more moments of still silence passed before Yuuri came to their own conclusion about whatever it was they were pondering about with a small sigh. Which would have been a relief if it had not been punctuated with them taking the only thing shielding him from the cruel cold world; his blankets.

With a startled exclamation, his grip tightened around the last corner of one of them before it could be ripped entirely away. Yuuri frowned at him, though this time he could hardly care about whether or not it was a good look for them.

Because they were taking away his blankets. He was cold without his blankets. Adding these two things together told him Yuuri wanted him to be cold. 

Being cold meant he would turn blue and all his limbs would fall off. 

He was not going to let go of the blankets.

Yuuri glared at him and he glared at Yuuri. They were at a standoff. 

Then Yuuri sighed, their features softening save for the growingly familiar furrow in their brows. They reached out to Viktor, who stiffened until he realized they weren’t still trying to take his blankets. Their touch was soft and nudged him to the only other door in the room they hadn’t entered from. It was also where the most heat was coming from and-

Oh.

When Yuuri slid the door open it revealed to Viktor hot springs. Except they were inside not- 

Further wandering of the eyes would reveal that there was another door across from them that looked to indeed lead out to actual outside springs. 

And then Yuuri’s actions made sense. His cheeks reddened and he chastised himself. They weren’t trying to kill him nor would he be trying to disrobe him for indecent things because they had  _ just met for goodness sake Viktor get your head on right  _ and Yuuri was too nice to do anything like that. 

A tug on one of his blankets drew his attention to his side to find an… unexpected sight.

Sometime when Viktor had been gawking at the indoor springs and his own thoughts, Yuuri had stripped their own clothes down to just their undergarments. This new outfit (or lack thereof) allowed a view of their stomach which was previously concealed. And what a shame that had been, for how could someone contain such a marvel? A soft roll of fat was easily spotted and it made Viktor’s heart do dangerous stunts.

If his face had been red before, it was simply now  _ roasting _ with fire.

Yuuri, for their own grace, only looked a slight bit uncomfortable with the obvious staring Viktor was very obviously doing. He should stop, but it was hard to look away from perfection. 

Another tug on his blanket, harder this time. Viktor, with only an ounce of hesitance, let the fabric go from his shoulder’s with their insistence. He undressed himself because he was completely capable and would most like be incapable of doing anything else if Yuuri stepped in to help him with such a thing. 

Then they pulled off their undergarment from out of the corner of his eye and Viktor quickly turned so his back was to the now very naked Yuuri. And although he would love to pause and catch up to his heart, he knew they were waiting for him and if he delayed any longer they would believe something to be wrong.

He did not wish to worry them more than he already had.

He watched them gather their clothes and his own and place them in two separate baskets for safekeeping. Yuuri took one glance back, then pointedly turned and scuttled towards the door leading into the bathing room. He had to bite back his smile at their adorableness. 

Yuuri shuffled through the door and reached blindly for Viktor’s hand, grasping his wrist like it belonged there to make sure he was following.

Boy, was he  _ following _ .

The room they entered was warm and humid and spilled into Viktor’s soul almost immediately. His muscles loosened from just being there. So content, he didn’t notice at first when Yuuri continued to tug him further and further until he heard the telltale signs of water sloshing.

He snapped open his eyes, which at some point had drawn closed. Yuuri was staring up at him, half their body in the water, hand still trying to urge Viktor closer, follow them into the water that had a slight tint to it, different from the water he drank and the water he had woken in. 

Did this water sting, too?

Yuuri watched him for a moment, watched him as he stood frozen in his spot even though the room was so so warm and all he wanted to do was melt. Then, quietly, they let go of his wrist. Disappointment fluttered quietly in his chest for a brief second before panic overtook as Yuuri lifted their other hand, wet with the water they stood in. 

Although every part of him screamed to get away, Viktor held himself still. Yuuri wouldn’t hurt him. Yuuri would know which water stung and which water didn’t; they live in this world after all. So he only stared at the digits as they floated up to his wrist, still hanging in the air, right where Yuuri left it.

He sucked a breath in deep. 

Yuuri’s fingers ghosted his skin, then pressed down.

One second.

Two.

Three.

No matter how long he waited, no sting came. No pain or displeasure or anything but the simple feeling of Yuuri’s fingers curling around his wrist once more, this time with a slickness that had them holding him tighter. 

Viktor broke into a smile. He knew it, knew he could trust them.

The next minute had him slumped in the bath, audibly moaning in pleasure as the warm, warm,  _ warm _ water seeped into his bones and right to his heart.

He was so blissed out, he almost missed Yuuri’s feather light chuckle tickle beside him.

Almost.

 

*

*

*

 

Yuuri was red, red, red.

He couldn’t believe it, but really, he could. Sometime between him and Viktor taking their clothes off and getting out of the bath (he had to practically drag them out before they turned into a literal prune with how long they had actually stayed),  _ someone _ had taken Viktor’s clothes and replaced them with some of Yuuri’s own.

And by someone, he meant Mari.

So now not only had Yuuri been faced with Viktor’s naked body (which was surprisingly  _ good looking _ for someone who had half drowned in the ocean just hours before), but he also had the image of them in Yuuri’s shirt and pants, a bit too tight for his larger build, and  _ there was no way he was going to be able to wear that pair of underwear again. _

As he lead the way out of the  _ onsen’s  _ changing room, he debated on strangling his sister or thanking her beyond measure. By the time they made it back to the dining room, he hadn’t decided and instead settled for an exasperated look her way.

If he saw a smug grin on her face, he pretended not to notice.

“Where is he going to sleep tonight?” she asked as Viktor sat back down next to the table, looking more content than they had been since they had been found. Yuuri kept his gaze on them as he stood in the entrance to the kitchen, listening to her clean up. 

“There’s that empty banquet hall next to my room. We can get a futon out and he can sleep there. If he needs anything, I can get to him easily.”

Although he wasn’t looking at her, he could feel her gaze staring him down. For a moment, he thought she would protest since the banquet hall wasn’t a room and if they were going to pretend Viktor was a paying guest then they should at least give them a proper room to fit the lie. 

“All right then. You should probably get him there soon, ‘cause he looks like he’s about to fall over right on the table.”

She wasn’t wrong. Yuuri didn’t bother suppressing his smile as he went over and nudged Viktor back up onto their feet. “Time for bed,” he whispered to them, even though he knew they couldn’t understand his words.

Inexplicably, Viktor smiled, looked up at Yuuri’s face, and said, “Yuuri,” like he was saying ‘okay’ instead. 

Again, he didn’t have to look at Mari to know she was chuckling at how red his face was getting once more. 

He led the way, like he had been doing almost all that night, with Viktor settled against his side as more of a pleasant weight than something that needed to be held upright. When they finally made it to the hallway containing the two rooms - his and soon to be Viktor’s - he paused. 

How would he explain this…?

“Viktor,” he murmured, drawing that ice blue gaze back to his own. He pointed to himself, then to the door at the end of the hall. “My room.” He repeated the gesture, but still only saw the confused dip in their brow. Sighing, he then pointed to Viktor, followed by a point  to the door to their right. “Your room.” He pointed in that order again and waited.

He thought of getting his phone and opening Google Translate again, but remembered bitterly that he had forgotten the device back in the dining room. 

Viktor would just have to figure it out on their own, he thought with a hint of worry. For extra measure, he would have to make sure to clearly walk in the direction of his room once he got Viktor settled so they would know where to look if something did happen.

_ If _ , he repeated in his head. There was no guarantee anything  _ would _ happen when he left them to sleep.

He let Viktor sit in the middle of the floor as he dug in a closet for a futon and some covers. He unrolled the cushion and patted it with a pointed look at Viktor, then pat the futon harder when they didn’t move. That got them to understand and by the time Yuuri came back with two blankets, they were shifting on the bed, looking for a comfortable position. 

With a soft smile, he covered Viktor in the two blankets in his hands then, almost as an afterthought, went back into the closet to fetch another to place by their side in case they were still cold. 

Viktor watched him do his with wide eyes. Once Yuuri was satisfied, he gave a last gentle pat to the lump he assumed to be Viktor’s arm and moved to stand.

Before he could, a hand shot up and stopping him by gripping his own. His eyes, widened now, met with Viktor’s, which looked exhausted to say the least. But there was an emotion swimming in them that Yuuri couldn’t define. 

Did Viktor…want him to…?   


A large flush (something inside his head told him he was blushing far too much that day) spread across his cheeks at his own thoughts. 

No, no,  _ no.  _ Viktor wouldn’t want to have Yuuri stay with him during the night, even for extra warmth. They had  _ just met that day _ of course they wouldn’t be holding him back in order for him not to leave to his own room. They were just confused he was leaving without explanation, surely.

Slowly, he extracted his hand from Viktor’s grip. “Sleep,” he whispered, placing his hands under his own head in what he hoped was universal for sleeping. 

Viktor, thankfully seemed to get it, nodding a few times, almost to themself. 

Yuuri took the chance to slip back to the door, opening it fully and angling himself toward his own door. “Goodnight, Viktor.”

“ _ Oysm… _ ” they seemed to try to copy, but their accent and sleepiness cause the word to distort beyond recognition. The attempt, however, increased Yuuri’s smile tenfold. 

He made sure Viktor was watching him when he walked past the door and to his own, leaving the banquet hall open to allow their voice to travel to him if they were loud enough.

_ If, not when, if _ . 

Regardless of what he told himself, Yuuri still spent the night in a fitful rest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when i was writing victor would not,, would Not get in the tub At All. thanks to a couple friends who encouraged both him and me into actually finishing that bath scene.
> 
> on a different note, i may have some kind of plan regarding adding one or two more characters outside of the usual hasetsu cast. any feelings on minami and / or yurio joining in on this fic ? please let me kno down in the comments !
> 
> this time no promises on when the next chapter appears because im terrible with promises even vague ones


	5. choking / breathing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri was choking, choking, choking.
> 
> Viktor was breathing, breathing, breathing.
> 
> They make a journey outside Yuutopia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aa well it hasnt been four months since the last update but this chapter is.. a bit on the short side. hopefully you will enjoy it nonetheless.
> 
> here we introduce minami for, one line oops sorry bab i promise youll get more time in this work later on. we also see the triplets tho i did struggle a lot to write that section so apologies if it seems a little out of place in terms of writing style ^^;
> 
> but here we finally have some skating it only took five chapters haa
> 
> a few notes for clarification down at the end if anyone needs it !

Yuuri was choking, choking, choking.

There wasn’t really anything particular about it. He had woken that morning with a familiar feeling in his chest that wouldn’t let up even when he went and saw Viktor safe and still snoozing on the futon in the banquet hall. It persisted through breakfast and into well into the morning. 

It got so bad that when Mari introduced him to the new hire she had been chattering about for months (Minami Kenjirou - an energetic young blond boy new to Hasetsu as well as to proper ways on dying one’s hair red) he could only nod and offer a lousy at best welcome to the new kid. Though Minami seemed all too thrilled to even be in a real  _ onsen _ , Mari was watching Yuuri like she knew what was happening.

He should have known that she actually did know.

“I can cover for you until dinner now that we have Minami here,” she said almost out of nowhere as he was getting ready to man the counter, Viktor quietly following behind him like they had since waking up like an imprinted duckling (they seemed subdued that day, though Yuuri couldn’t blame them when they were probably still recovering from the day before). “Yuuko said the rink was open for the whole day when I called after breakfast. No lessons planned and you know barely anyone goes in for the open skating time anyways.”

She was already pushing him out of his work apron before he could respond with a proper thank you.

“And bring Viktor with you! Though I doubt you would shake him off so easily, I don’t want to have to babysit him when I’m busy with customers.”

Yuuri took one glance at Viktor, having noticed that he was preparing to leave Yuutopia, with their eyes wide and feet shuffling in a way that told anyone looking they wanted to tag along, and he agreed silently with Mari’s muttered statement.

Though it also was doubtful he’d ever purposefully leave Viktor behind, what with the little amount of sleep he got from worrying about being a room apart from them for just one night.

 

*

 

During the walk to the Hasetsu Ice Castle, Viktor would not let go of the back of Yuuri’s coat.

He was sure they were drawing the stares of everyone in the streets because of the sight they made together; a foreign person bundled head to toe in any kind of winter gear imaginable and a Hasetsu native trying not to trip whenever he was stopped by them tugging harshly to get his attention and point out some basic building or sign or pothole which marveled them beyond reason.

The easy ten minute walk became a half hour from all the stopping. It would have been amusing in another situation, but Yuuri  _ needed _ to get on the ice. In the last half of the walk he couldn’t help but hoist his bag higher up his shoulder even when it needed no such adjusting, just to get his frustrations out on something other than Viktor. The last thing they needed was him snapping at them in a language they didn’t know. 

It was an immense relief that washed over him in one big wave when the sight of Hasetsu Ice Castle revealed itself once they rounded a corner. Viktor seemed to catch up on this since they remained quiet for the rest of the way, although Yuuri could sense their gaze locked firmly on the ninja house settled on top of the distant hill.

Did they even know what a ninja was? He’d have to take them there someday. 

Yuuri almost tripped over his own feet at the thought.  _ Someday  _ ? No, Viktor wasn’t going to be there for that long. They were only staying until they fully recovered from their cold (they sneezed almost on cue) and then they would go back to their own home. Whether that be… somewhere in Russia or on an island filled with other beautiful strangers. 

He couldn’t allow them to be away from the people that miss them for any longer than necessary. 

His thoughts were broken by the doors to the ice rink opening to release a flurry of small girls towards them both. Yuuri had to be quick to create a barrier between them and Viktor since he didn’t know how well they would react to identical triplets racing straight towards them with mischief written clearly in their eyes. 

“Yuuri! Yuuri! You haven’t been back in a while where did you go?!”

“Yuuri, who is this guy?”

“Why is he dressed like he’s going to the Arctic?”

“Hello, I’m Axel and these are my sisters!”

“Why is your hair so silver? Do you dye it?”

“Can I touch it?”

“I wanna touch his hair, too!”

“Wait your turn,  _ I’m _ the one who asked first!”

Thankfully before any of the small hands could reach up and physically drag Viktor down to their level so they could pet the poor person who already looked more overwhelmed than Yuuri had ever seen them, a loud voice boomed over the chorus of triplets to stop them in their tracks.

“ _ Girls  _ ! ” Yuuri sighed in relief to see Nishigori Yuuko swooping down like the mother she was to gather her children back under her careful watch. “What did I say about respecting people’s boundaries? Apologize to them.”

Axel, Lutz, and Loop grumbled before announcing in unison, “we’re sorry.”

It didn’t seem that convincing (as per usual).

“It’s all right,” he said even though it really wasn’t because now Viktor  _ definitely _ wasn’t going to let go of Yuuri anytime soon, which would be a problem once he laced himself up and got on the ice. “Though I would advise to listen to your mother more often.”

The triplets, chastised, nodded before looking back up at Viktor. They kept their mouths shut, but he could feel their curiosity like ants crawling across his skin. 

Eventually, it was Yuuko who broached the subject. “Who’s this, Yuuri?” She almost sounded suspicious, which would be expected since he almost never had anyone with him whenever he wished to skate. Not even Mari had been allowed with him back when they had more free time and their parents still looked over Yuutopia. 

But Viktor… Yuuri didn’t mind having him watch. 

(Even if they would have a hard time letting him get on the ice. The bathing incident was a still frustrating memory in his mind).

“This is Viktor. He’s… a guest at the  _ onsen _ . He wanted to see the rink, so I let him join me coming over here.”

At the mention of their name, Viktor perked like a puppy being called and looked between him and Yuuko as if to try and figure out why they were talking about them. Yuuri gave them a smile that hopefully said it was all right. 

They relaxed instantly.

Yuuko only raised her brow.

Yuuri was getting sick of having all these silent looks thrown his way.

“All right. If you trust him enough to let him come with you, then I’ll leave him be…” She glanced at the triplets, who seemed to be slinking away as the conversation continued. “And I’ll make sure  _ they _ know not to bother him either.” 

Axel, Lutz, and Loop flinched, nodded in complacency to their mother, and finally made their escape into the rink’s doors.

Yuuri could breathe a little better with the words in his ear. “Thank you, Yuuko.”

“It’s no problem.” She turned to Viktor and suddenly the tension in his bones returned. “Now, what’s your skate size?”

“No, no, no,” he quickly intervened, stepping to shield Viktor as if they already weren’t hiding behind him. “Viktor’s not here to skate. He can’t skate. He’s only… only, ah, here to watch!”

Now she was really giving him a look. “Just to watch?”

“Yes…?”

The look increased, if that was possible. “…All right then. But if…  _ he _ changes his mind, let me know. I’ll give him a pair to rent.”

Yuuri almost fell back against Viktor in relief as she turned and followed her children inside. He didn’t want to know what horrid things could go wrong if Viktor tugged on a pair of skates, especially so soon after being bedridden. Instead, he caught himself and tugged Viktor so they would fall in step with him as they both finally made it through the doors and past the lobby and into the locker room where he sat to fix his skates on.

A quick glance at Viktor and his brows furrowed. Their look of wonder never faded from their icy blue gaze, but their shivering had only increased the closer they got to the rink.

Perhaps this wasn’t a good idea. Viktor was suppose to be recovering from a cold, not get a new one by sitting by the rink side.

Yuuri was about to call Yuuko to guide them back to Yuutopia when Viktor’s eyes found the door that led to the rink and locked on it, not wandering away from him to get a better look, but having the obvious want of exploring what lay beyond it.

Now he couldn’t possibly tear them away. If they were going to catch another cold, then it would be their fault for having too much curiosity.

(Yuuri refused to think about how them getting a bit sicker would cause them to stay longer and the pleasant feeling that bloomed in him at that thought).

“Viktor,” he said as soon as he made sure his skates were tight enough and his blade guards secure. They snapped their head to him in growing excitement. Yuuri smiled fully. 

“Let’s go.”

 

 

*

*

*

 

Viktor was breathing, breathing, breathing.

It didn’t matter to him that the cold was seeping back into his bones straight through all of his layers of clothing, nor did it matter that he had been told in words clear regardless of the language they were said in that he was to stay put after several attempts of him trying to get closer to the barrier in front of him. 

 It didn’t matter because before him was _solid_ _water_ and Yuuri was _gliding_ on it.

“Yuuri!” he called out for the millionth time since entering the door leading into this very very large room with  _ solid water _ in the middle of it. “Yuuri!”

It wasn’t necessarily a call for attention, but rather a call to announce in words he knew not how utterly amazed he was at the sight in front of him. Yuuri seemed to understand after the first few shouts of their name since they continued to glide instead of stopping each time. 

“ _ Hai, hai _ ,” answered Yuuri for the millionth time since figuring out what the call meant, a soft, seemingly unconscious smile gracing their lips. Viktor didn’t quite understand what that word meant, but he liked how natural it sounded off of of Yuuri’s tongue. 

(He may or may not have said Yuuri’s name just to hear that word a few more times rather than to express his wonder).

Yuuri looked at peace on the solid water. Graceful and beautiful and everything a person could only hope to be. 

But…

“Yuuri?” The question must have projected through his voice, for this time they stopped gliding with the flick of their feet to look at him. He pointed at the solid water. “What?” He hoped the shortened question was enough for them to figure out what he wanted to know.

They stared at him for a moment, mouth moving in perhaps a way that was imitating the word he spoke, before their eyes blinked understanding. “Ah.” They mimicked Viktor’s pointing at the solid water beneath them. “ _ Aisu _ .”

“…Ice?”

Yuuri nodded, smile growing. “Ice.”

As Viktor watched Yuuri go back to gliding, he couldn’t help but stare at this  _ ice _ and wonder if somehow, someone like him could glide on it with grace and beauty and peace of mind like Yuuri had obviously mastered. 

He wanted to try.

His attention was immediately grabbed as Yuuri suddenly  _ kicked off _ , spun in the air, and landed back down like it was as easy as breathing. 

With all the awe and affection he could muster, he clapped and cried, “ _ Yuuri  _ !”

He wanted to try that, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soo in this au, yuuri does skate as seen in this chap, but he never went competitive or at least never aimed for the big competitions that would earn him recognition. this is because victor was never a professional skater who inspired yuuri to try to get to his level.
> 
> since ive added minami to this au, that means yurio cant be far behind ! expect him in perhaps the next chapter or the one after !
> 
> in regards to other characters from yoi appearing, i have to say that it probably wont happen. people like phichit and chris and otabek etc are still in the professional skating world without the podium family there to keep them from getting medals. cause this is my au n i say so phichit already has a grand prix final gold under this belt at this point :)
> 
> and as one last thing, i will say that no one in this au besides viktor n soon yurio is speaking english. yuuri and the rest of the hasetsu cast are speaking japanese. so when victor asks what ice is, yuuri answers in japanese hence 'aisu' (ice but w japanese pronunciation). since they sound the same and victor now knows the word, i changed it back to ice for better understanding. hope this doesnt confuse people too much !
> 
> if you have questions or an opinion of whether you want yuri to be called yurio or yura in this fic please comment down below ! thank you ~

**Author's Note:**

> check me out on tumblr @prettyboyvoid


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